Creative Research tools are automated pieces of software that collect rich, authentic data with the goal of providing 3 I’s: Information, Insights and Inspiration.

User performance is almost always measured by having a group of test users perform a predefined set of test tasks while collecting time and error data.

Storyboarding is a technique borrowed from film making and cartooning. Each step in an interaction, whether between the user and the system, multiple users or some combination thereof.
Contextual Design: Defining Customer-centered systems, Beyer & Holtblatt, 1998

A expert usability review provides an immediate tactical analysis of the user experience of your Web site, Web application, GUI application, or Intranet.

A gathering of 6 to 8 consumers who are led in a tightly scripted discussion by a trained moderator, usually for 1 to 2 hours.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 25)

This technique can be used for usability test, where the participants are allowed to ask any system-related questions to an expert coach who will answer to the best of his or her ability. Usually the facilitator serves as the coach.

Subjective assessment tells the evaluator how the users feel about the software being tested. This is distinct from how efficiently or effectively they perform with the software. The usual method of assessment is to used a standardised opinion questionnaire to avoid criticisms of subjectivity.

A person or group of people are observed by a researcher while they go about their normal lives. The duration of these observations can range from 1 hour to several days or weeks
(Laurel. Design Research, p 27)

Observational research is the systematic process of viewing and recording human behavior and cultural phenomena without questioning, communicating with, or interacting with the group being studied.
(Visocky O’Grady. A Designer’s Research Manual, p 34)

“Competitor analysis is the process of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of an organization’s competitors.” (Visocky O’Grady. A Designer’s Research Manual. p 22)

Fifty to hundred or more people are gathered in a large auditorium to view ideas, products, designs or other exhibits presented on a large screen.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 25)

One person interviewed by a researcher who’s is following a tightly scripted guide or a loose outline. Duration my range from 20 minutes to 1 or more hours.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 25)

The GOMS Model represents the procedural knowledge required to operate a system in terms of the user Goals, basic actions or Operators, Methods, which are sequences of operators that will accomplish goals, and Selection rules, which determine which method to apply to accomplish a goal.

A group of people who all know each other gather together in one person’s home and spend 2 to 3 hours conversing with each other and the moderator on a chosen topic.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 25)

Heuristic evaluation is a form of usability inspection where usability specialists judge whether each element of a user interface follows a list of established usability heuristics. Expert evaluation is similar, but does not use specific heuristics.

Thinking aloud (Nielsen, 1994), may be the single most valuable usability engineering method. It involves having a end user continuously thinking out loud while using the system.

“A literature review is a comprehensive investigation of all documents, publications, articles, and books regarding a specific area of study. This first step in the research process can also include a client’s corporate communications, as well as those of their competitors.” (Visocky O’Grady. A Designer’s Research Manual. p 24)

A person is given a camera and asked to capture images of his or her life and describe them with the accompanying notes.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 27)

The Critical Incident Technique is an open-ended retrospective technique of finding out what users feel and identify the critical features of the software that is being evaluated. It is more flexible than a questionnaire or survey and is recommended in situations where the only alternative is to develop a questionnaire or survey from the start.

Three people who are either similar to each other or are different in a specific way, interviewed by a moderator following an outline or lightly scripted guide, usually for about an hour.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 25)

Logging involves having the computer automatically collect statisctics about the detailed use of the system.

Psychographics is a quantitative tactic used to measure subjective beliefs, opinions, and interests.
(Visocky O’Grady. A Designer’s Research Manual, p 47)

Cultural Probes were developed as a design-oriented way to acquire inspirational glimpses of communities targeted for design. (Boehner, Vertesi, Sengers & Dourish, 2007; Gaver, Dunne & Pacenti, 1999).

User Interviews provide directional design input in order to elicit the goals and needs of the user by focusing on how they perform their current tasks independent of the specific product being developed.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 75)

Remote usability testing is used when tester(s) are separated in space and/or time from the participants. This means that the tester(s) cannot observe the testing process directly and that the participants are usually not in a formal usability laboratory.

A classification according to a set of demographic and geographic variables such as age, race, education, income and location.
(About Face 2.0 Alan Cooper p53, 2003)

“Web analytics, sometimes referred to as Web statistics or technographic research, are a form of quantitative analysis that uses concrete metrics to track user behavior online.” (Visocky O’Grady. A Designer’s Research Manual. p 50)

Affinity diagramming is used to sort large amounts of data into logical groups. Existing items and/or new items identified by individuals are written on sticky notes which are sorted into categories as a workshop activity. Affinity diagramming can be used to:

• analyse findings from field studies
• identify and group user functions as part of design
• analyse findings from a usability evaluation

Additional “testing” after-the-fact. After a user testing session has been conducted and videotaped, retrospective testing is reviewing the tape with the user to ask additional questions and get further clarification.

User based evaluation of a working system, where the primary objective is to identify usability problems.

Also known as the “Four P’s”; product, price, promotion, place are “a set of controllable tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. The marketing mix consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product.” (Kotler. Principles of Marketing. p 33)

The card sorting technique is a very useful approach to understand what natural categories people have for the domain. It is especially appropriate when the designer is not a domain expert and needs the insight of the users or when several alternative organisations are possible. (Brinck, 2003, p. 138)

A more recent variation on traditional ethnography, using digital tools to speed up the the process without compromising the quality of the work.
(Laurel. Design Research, p 27)